Stocks to watch Thursday: Apple, DuPont, Verizon

Five blue chips included in deluge of financial reports

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — Among the companies whose shares are expected to see active trade in Thursday’s session are Apple Inc. and Morgan Stanley as well as blue chips General Electric Co., DuPont, McDonald’s Corp. and Verizon Communications Inc.

E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co.
DD, -1.87%
raised its 2011 profit outlook as the chemicals company reported first-quarter earnings of $1.52 a share, compared to the $1.36-a-share consensus forecast in a survey of analysts by FactSet Research.

General Electric
GE, -1.68%
is projected to report first-quarter earnings of 28 cents a share, according to analysts surveyed by FactSet.

McDonald’s
MCD, -2.06%
is expected to post first-quarter earnings of $1.14 a share, according to a FactSet survey.

Verizon
VZ, -0.51%
is forecast to post first-quarter earnings of 50 cents a share, according to a FactSet survey.

Morgan Stanley
MS, -0.97%
is expected to report first-quarter earnings of 34 cents a share, according to a consensus survey by Thomson Reuters.

Earlier, Schlumberger Ltd.
SLB, -2.12%
reported first-quarter net earnings reached $944 million, or 69 cents a share, up from $672 million, or 56 cents, in the year-earlier quarter. Adjusted profit was 71 cents as revenue moved up to $8.72 billion from $5.6 billion. The FactSet-compiled consesnsus forecast had been for a profit of 76 cents a share on revenue of $8.83 billion.

Also on the earnings calendar, Blackrock Inc.
BLK, -1.74%
is projected to post first-quarter earnings of $2.75 a share, according to analysts in a FactSet survey.

Blackstone Group LP
BX, -1.21%
is forecast to post first-quarter earnings of 41 cents a share, according to a FactSet poll.

Capital One Financial Corp.
COF, -0.71%
is likely to report first-quarter earnings of $1.55 a share, according to analysts in a FactSet poll.

BB&T Corp.
BBT, -0.15%
is projected to report first-quarter earnings of 31 cents a share, according to a FactSet poll.

Chubb Corp.
CB, -0.48%
is expected to post first-quarter earnings of $1.18 a share, according to a Thomson Reuters survey.

New York Times Co.
NYT, -1.25%
is projected to report first-quarter earnings of 2 cents a share, according to analysts surveyed by FactSet.

Advanced Micro Devices Inc.
AMD, -0.35%
is likely to report first-quarter earnings of 5 cents a share, according to a FactSet poll.

Sandisk Corp.
SNDK
is expected to report first-quarter earnings of 99 cents a share, according to analysts surveyed by FactSet.

Rockwell Collins Inc.
COL, +0.38%
is forecast to post second-quarter earnings of 96 cents a share, according to analysts in a FactSet survey.

Sherwin-Williams Co.
SHW, -0.90%
is expected to post first-quarter earnings of 52 cents a share, according to analysts in a FactSet survey.

Southwest Airlines Co.
LUV, -0.49%
is projected to report first-quarter earnings of 3 cents a share, according to a FactSet poll.

Jetblue Airways Corp.
JBLU, -1.86%
is forecast to post first-quarter earnings of a penny a share, according to analysts surveyed by FactSet.

Xerox Corp.
XRX, -2.93%
is likely to post first-quarter earnings of 22 cents a share, according to a FactSet survey.

Philip Morris International Inc.
PM, -1.66%
is expected to post first-quarter earnings of $1.05 a share, according to a FactSet poll.

Watch list

After Wednesday’s closing bell, TradeStation Group
TRAD, -2.16%
announced a deal to be acquired by Japan’s Monex Group (8698) for $411 million, at a price of $9.75 a share.

Apple
AAPL, -1.53%
reported a 95% surge in second-quarter earnings to $5.99 billion, or $6.40 a share, from $3.07 billion, or $3.33 a share, a year earlier. Revenue jumped 83% to $24.67 billion.

Amgen Inc.
AMGN, -3.02%
reported a first-quarter profit of $1.13 billion, or $1.20 a share, versus $1.17 billion, or $1.18 a share, for the same period a year earlier. Excluding various items, Amgen would have reported adjusted earnings of $1.34 a share.

Results showed Boston Scientific Corp.
BSX, -1.11%
swinging to first-quarter profit of 1 cent a share from a loss of $1.05 a share in the year-ago period. Excluding one-time items, the medical device maker would have reported earnings of 22 cents a share. Revenue fell to $1.93 billion from $1.96 billion last year.

E-Trade Financial Corp.
ETFC, -1.40%
reported a first-quarter profit of $45 million, or 16 cents a share, recovering from a loss of $47.8 million, or 25 cents a share, a year earlier. Revenue was flat at $537 million.

Gilead Sciences Inc.
GILD, -3.21%
reported a first-quarter profit of $651.1 million, or 80 cents a share, down from $854.9 million, or 92 cents a share, a year ago. Revenue slipped 8% to $1.93 billion.

Honeywell International Inc.
HON, -1.04%
reported a first-quarter profit of $705 million, or 88 cents a share, up from $489 million, or 63 cents a share, a year earlier. Sales rose 15% to $8.9 billion.

Noble Corp.
NE, -4.87%
said first-quarter profit fell to $54.5 million, or 21 cents a share, from $370.7 million, or $1.43, a year ago. Revenue slid to $578.9 million from $840.9 million.

Qualcomm Inc.
QCOM, -3.71%
reported a second-quarter profit of $999 million, or 59 cents a share, compared with a profit of $774 million, or 46 cents a share, for the year-earlier period. Revenue was $3.88 billion, up from $2.67 billion. Adjusted profit was 86 cents a share.

Yum Brands
YUM, -1.63%
said first-quarter profit rose to $264 million, or 54 cents a share, from $241 million, or 50 cents a share, in the same quarter of 2010. Excluding special items, the company would have earned 63 cents a share. Revenue rose 3% to $2.43 billion.

Western Digital Corp.
WDC, -3.09%
reported a fiscal third-quarter profit of $146 million, or 62 cents a share, compared with $400 million, or $1.71 a share, a year earlier. Revenue also fell to $2.25 billion from $2.64 billion in sales.

Intraday Data provided by SIX Financial Information and subject to terms of use. Historical and current end-of-day data provided by SIX Financial Information. All quotes are in local exchange time. Real-time last sale data for U.S. stock quotes reflect trades reported through Nasdaq only. Intraday data delayed at least 15 minutes or per exchange requirements.